The present invention relates to steering devices for boats, and it relates more particularly to inboard rudders which are mounted so that they can be readily removed when the boat is in shallow water or beached.
Many small craft, especially sailboats are provided with rudders which are easily removable so that they can be lifted out of the water when the boat is in shallow water. However, such removable rudders are usually mounted outboard of the hull on the stern post or transom of the boat. Inboard rudders, that is, those in which the rudder post extends through the bottom of the boat instead of being mounted outside it are generally permanently mounted in the hull. In sailboats with fixed keels, a permanent rudder is no problem, because the keel determines the draft of the boat, and the rudder is almost never deeper than the keel.
But in boats with no keel or with centerboards or daggerboards, which can be raised into the boat, outboard rudders have been used so that the rudder can also be raised or removed. From a marine-design standpoint the disadvantage of an outboard rudder is that the boat steers on its own length as a turning radius instead of within its own length as in the case of a boat with an inboard rudder. Consequently, a boat having an inboard rudder has a shorter turning radius than one the same length having an outboard rudder. Inboard rudders, therefore, provide better maneuverability than outboard rudders. This, of course, is important for racing purposes especially.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a boat with an inboard rudder which can be raised, removed and replaced as readily as one that is mounted outboard.